Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(66)

“Henry’s fine,” she said, clearly on edge.

“Thank God.” I sighed in relief. “Then what’s going on? Why didn’t you pick up the phone?”

“I didn’t hear it ring.” She glanced at her cell phone sitting on the table and then picked it up. “I’m sorry. I turned it off, I guess.”

“You don’t turn your phone off after sending a text, Mom.” I gestured her to be quiet when she opened her mouth to argue. “Now what’s going on?”

“Henry’s mother. She’s in Denver. And she wants to see him.”

A brick hit my gut. Francine “Frankie” Stokes was a Las Vegas showgirl with long legs, fake tits, and a killer smile. My beautiful son was the result of a drunken one-nighter. She’d relinquished her parental rights, and I’d taken sole custody of Henry.

She’d promised to stay out of his life and leave us alone.

“Did you tell her no?”

“Of course not. She’s his mother.”

“His mother who relinquished all rights to him. He’s my son now. Not hers.”

“You have sole custody,” she said. “Would it be too much to ask for her to see him?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t understand. You’re not a mother.”

“Since when do you have such sympathy toward Henry’s mother? What kind of woman gives away her son?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t want her here any more than you do, but she sounded desperate.”

Desperate? I didn’t like the sound of that. No way was she coming near my son.

“What’s her number? I’ll call her and set her straight.”

My mom pointed to her cell. “It’s on my phone.”

“You didn’t take down her number?”

“I…guess I wasn’t thinking. Everything that’s gone on, and I’ve been packing all day.”

“The packers were supposed to take care of all of that.”

“I didn’t trust them with the breakable stuff. They clomp around here like they own the place, trailing dirt and sand onto the carpet.” She shook her head. “I didn’t like it. Didn’t like having strange men in the house.”

My mother had been wary of strange men since my father’s death. She was still dealing with what he’d been, and I understood completely. So what did I do? Instead of heading straight home after Ted Morse had come to her house, I’d fucked Marjorie Steel. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Mom, it’s okay. I’ll call Frankie and take care of everything.”

“She’s his mother, Bryce.”

“Yeah, she is. But have you thought about the big picture here? What if she falls in love with Henry and wants to take him from us?”

My mother gasped, her fingers covering her mouth. “But she already gave up her rights!”

“Do you think that matters? She’s his biological mother. The courts favor mothers over fathers. If she decides to pursue something”—I swallowed, the thought killing me—“we could lose him.”

“No. Just no.” She wrung her hands together.

“Exactly. I will not let that happen. She has no rights, so there’s no reason we need to let her see him.”

“I’m sorry, Bryce. I haven’t been thinking straight lately. I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”

I said nothing, just gave her a quick hug. I knew well what the matter was. My father. My psycho father. We were both still dealing with the truth of what he’d been.

I grabbed her phone and hit last call received.

No way was that wayward bitch coming near my son.





Chapter Forty–Three





Marjorie





My brothers were still in the office, but I’d left after Bryce stormed out so quickly. I had no idea what his problem was, and I tried not to care.

Still, I cared. Maybe I didn’t try very hard. Or maybe, more likely, I cared anyway, despite knowing I’d be better off if I didn’t.

The clock was nearing nine p.m. when the doorbell rang.

My heart leaped. Bryce had returned! Not that he’d be here to see me, but I couldn’t help the way my body responded. My sisters-in-law were still in the family room. I was nearest the door, so I walked through the foyer and opened it without looking in the peephole.

I smiled brightly, and—

Then frowned.

Bryce Simpson did not stand in the doorway.

Colin Morse did.

Colin Morse had come to my home…while all of my brothers were here. Not a good combination.

“Hey, Marj,” he said.

“What are you doing here, Colin?”

“After you canceled on me today, I got worried. Is Jade all right?”

“She’s fine.”

“You didn’t give me much of an explanation.”

“I told you something came up and we couldn’t make it. I didn’t owe you anything else.”

“May I come in?”

“I don’t think that’s a good—”

“Who is it, Sis?”

I turned at Talon’s voice. This was, after all, his home too.